


The Other Maximoffs

by ofthenoctis



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Fanfiction, Marvel Universe, Multi, POV Wanda Maximoff, Pre-Civil War (Marvel), Superheroes, The Tesseract (Marvel), Villains to Heroes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-19 15:48:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11900955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofthenoctis/pseuds/ofthenoctis
Summary: Anya, Pietro, Wanda, and Lorna Maximoff were just children when their lives were ripped away from them. A bomb had landed in their apartment building, killing their parents and ruining their lives forever. They vowed to kill Tony Stark for doing this to them, subjecting themselves to experiments.They're thrown into the sudden world of superheroes, and their lives change forever.





	1. The Bombings

"Anya! Anya!" Ten-year-old Wanda squeaked, jumping up and down. "Do my hair! Please?" Her green eyes glittered pleadingly as she gazed up at her eldest sister from her spot on the floor in the kids' shared bedroom.

Fifteen-year-old Anya chuckled, nodding as she sat down on her rickety bed. Anya, as the oldest, had the largest bed. Wanda and her twin brother, Pietro, shared a bed, while Lorna, the youngest at age five, had her own small bed. "C'mon, sit on my lap," Anya said. Sokovian rolled off her tongue so easily, Wanda marveled at how pretty her voice was. She used to make her sister sing lullabies to her at bedtime, and it helped her sleep.

Wanda hopped up on the bed, crawling onto her sister's lap obediently. Anya smiled, brushing out Wanda's hair as she hummed to her.

"Anya! Anya!" came Pietro's whining voice as he came in, kicking a football. "Tell Lorna to stop following me!" Little Lorna toddled after her brother with a giggle. The youngest Maximoff had latched onto her big brother, following him everywhere. She wanted to be just like him when she was older, she had proclaimed.

Anya laughed softly. "Do stop following Piet around, Lorn," she told her youngest sister as she started Wanda's braid. "He doesn't like it." The toddler sighed heavily, nodding her head.

Pietro kicked the ball around, sucking in a sharp breath after having kicked the ball so hard it hurtled into the wall, creating a hole. "Shoot."

"Mom's gonna kill you!" Wanda sang with a grin, kicking her legs a little as she clapped her hands. Lorna giggled, clapping her own chubby hands.

Pietro scowled in response. "Be on my side for once!" He protested, stomping his foot.

"Kids! Come to dinner!" Marya, the kids' mother, called. Anya tied off Wanda's braid, before helping her off the bed and out to the dining room.

"Mama! Mama!" Wanda chirped with a smirk. "Pietro kicked his ball into the wall and it made a huge hole!" Marya's expression fell into a stern look, and Pietro looked horrified at his sister.

"You snitch!" Pietro whined. "It was an accident!"

"Well, you'll be helping the neighbors to get the money to fix it," Django, their father, declared as he spooned spaghetti onto the kids' plates. Pietro huffed quietly, but said nothing and merely sat down at the table along with his siblings.

"No, no, I can pay for it." Anya shook her head. "I have plenty of money from working at the market. It's no big deal, Mama, Papa. Really."

Marya's expression softened. "Anya, what did we do to deserve you?" She asked with a soft smile. "You're so good."

Anya giggled. "Thanks, Mama," she replied as she spooned herself spaghetti. "I think it was your good cooking that made me good."

"More! More!" Lorna squeaked, reaching her small hand up to place atop her father's. "More food, Papa!" Django chuckled, spooning more spaghetti for her.

Pietro huffed in annoyance as no one was handing him a roll, and stood, reaching across the table to grab one. Just as he did so, though, the ceiling caved in as something large and dark dropped through it, causing a massive hole in the ground right through the center of the table. Marya and Django pushed their children away, though ended up falling through the hole. 

Pietro cried out in fear, yanking his three sisters away from the hole and up toward their parent's bed, rolling beneath it with them. "Mama! Papa!" Wanda screamed, her eyes round with fear as she curled into herself. Her parents were dead. They were dead!

Another large dark object dropped easily through the hole, landing on top of the first one. It was inches from their faces, blocking their way out from under the bed. Wanda squeezed her eyes shut, waiting on it to go off, to end their lives. She wanted it to go off. At least then she would be with her parents. She would be at peace. 

But it didn't go off. It just sat there. Wanda slowly opened one eye, then another, looking at the object. It was made of metal, and rounded. It had two words painted on the side facing them: Stark Industries.

"Tony Stark owns that company," Anya told her siblings quietly. "And we're going to kill him. Just as he killed Mama and Papa."

Wanda did nothing but nod in agreement. Tony Stark must pay.


	2. The Streets

A few weeks had passed since the bombings. The four children all lived together in a small cottage on the outskirts of the city. They had to steal for food, water, clothes, and anything else they needed. But they were all right--as long as they had each other.

Anya was the toughest out of all of them, and the smartest, not to mention the bravest. She would walk up and distract the shopkeepers while Pietro stole what they needed, and if they got caught, they used Lorna's 'puppy eyes' to get away with it. It worked every time, naturally.

Wanda was the mother figure of the four. She cared for the others whenever they were hurt, cooked meals for them, cleaned the cottage and sang Lorna to sleep with lullabies. 

Pietro, on the other hand, was overprotective. Whenever a boy got near his sisters, he yelled at them to back off and stay away. The only boy that he liked (other than himself) was a little kid named Alex Summers, who had an obvious crush on Lorna. Alex had lived across the hall from the Maximoffs, and he and Pietro used to play together.

"Come, they are protesting today!" Anya chirped happily as she entered the cottage one morning, a grin on her face.

"Who is doing what?" Wanda asked, frowning. 

"The people. They are protesting Stark today." Anya's tone was excitable, her eyes glittering. "Now come! Quick! We must help!" She ushered the children out, leading them down the street where a small crowd had gathered.

The crowd was shouting things like, "Down with Stark!" and, "Iron Man is an iron monster!" Anya expertly weaved her way through the people with her siblings, pushing to the front. She immediately joined in on the yelling, encouraging the kids to do the same. Pietro, of course, joined in immediately, while Lorna merely stuck her thumb in her mouth and Wanda hesitated.

"Wanda? What's wrong?" Anya asked, frowning at her sister.

"Should we really be shouting about this? Maybe it wasn't his fault."

"Wanda. He killed our parents. Accident or not, it still happened. And he deserves to pay for his mistakes."

"B-But--"

"But nothing."

Their small banter was interrupted by a small group of men stepping out the doors. The crowd went silent, watching them. One had a glass in his eye--a monocle--and no hair, and another had dusty grey-black hair. Both were very old. A third man stood behind them, watching them silently. The bald man turned toward the third man, saying something in a language none of them recognized, and the third man nodded before stepping forward.

"My friends!" he said in a booming, powerful voice. "We are not here to harm you. We are merely here to help you, yes!" He then turned back toward the other men, who said something else to him, to which he said to the crowd, "We are here to help you take down Anthony Stark!"

A roaring cheer erupted among the crowd, which made the bald man grin with satisfaction. The third man--whom the children assumed was a translator--then said, "But in order to do that, you require powers beyond his own! And we are here to supply you with all the power you need!"

Anya grinned widely. "You hear that, guys? We'll get powers! Like superheroes!"

"But...I don't want superpowers," Wanda squeaked, turning her green eyes up to her elder sister. 

"Oh, hush up, Wanda." Pietro rolled his eyes. "We need to be superheroes in order to take down the bad guy, right? Mr. Stark is the bad guy, so we need to take him down."

"Exactly." Anya tipped her head in her brother's direction. 

"So, any volunteers?" the translator boomed, looking over the crowd. Immediately, everyone rose their hands excitedly, including Anya and Pietro. Hesitantly, Wanda rose her hand as well, holding Lorna's hand.

The bald man grinned at the grey-haired man, and they stepped forward, picking out seven people--Anya, Wanda, Pietro, Lorna, and three others. Immediately, those chosen were led out of the crowd and inside the stone building before them.


	3. Experiments

The building was much larger inside than it seemed to be on the outside. It was certainly far larger than any of the other buildings the children had been in. They were led into a large room where a set of cells lay waiting. Anya looked around, her green eyes that proved she was a Maximoff calculating everything. Wanda pressed up against her eldest sister, hugging Pietro's arm. She didn't like this building already. Maybe they should have stayed home...

"It is okay, children," the translator stated for the men, inclining his head toward them. "We are not here to harm you. Only to make you better. Stronger. More powerful." The bald man turned toward the other man, murmuring something before pointing at Wanda. She watched them both almost curiously. What were they speaking about?

"What exactly will you do to us?" Pietro asked, stepping forward and puffing out his chest as if doing so made him seem tougher. "I want details."

The translator looked at the other men before he translated, "We will be doing a series of experiments on you. Do not worry! They will not be harmful. They will not hurt at all." He then grinned a little and murmured something that sounded suspiciously like, "At least, we hope." A shiver went down Wanda's spine. The more she stood here, with her siblings and the other chosen volunteers, the more she regretted all of this. The more she regretted volunteering. 

"Anya," she whispered, tugging at her elder sister's sleeve. "I do not like this."

"Hush, Wanda. We'll finally get justice for our parents. We'll finally kill Mr. Stark." Anya shook her head at her sister, her eyes narrowing at her. That shut the younger girl up. She watched silently as the men came toward them. The other volunteers were led separately, one by one, into individual cells. That was when Wanda became to panic. 

Were they going to separate her from her family? Was she going to be in a cell by herself, away from Anya, Lorna, and Pietro? She couldn't have that! She couldn't be alone! Alone was scary! She gripped tighter onto Pietro's arm, her green eyes as wide as possible. She was terrified. 

The bald man looked at the translator, who said, "Do not worry, young one. You will only be alone for a little bit." That didn't make her feel any better--worse, if anything. She had no reason to trust these strangers. She didn't even know them! For all she knew, they were lying.

She felt a sudden shaking form press up against her side, and she turned to see little Lorna hugging her side. Wanda placed her hand on the back of Lorna's head gently, stroking her hair comfortingly. "Shh," she whispered, letting out a quiet breath. It was hard to reassure someone when you weren't feeling all too well yourself.

Soon, the other volunteers were fully in their cells. The translator turned to face the siblings. "This is Dr. List," he said, gesturing to the grey-haired man, who smiled at them, "and this is the Baron." He pointed at the bald man, who nodded stiffly at them. "They will take good care of you, children." The supposed doctor stepped forward, extending a hand to little Lorna. He said something, translated to, "C'mere, little one. We'll take good care of you. Promise."

Lorna looked up at her siblings. Anya gave a nod and a smile of approval. "It's okay, Lorn. Go on ahead." Pietro looked stiff, and Wanda chewed on her lower lip anxiously. Lorna stepped forward, her chubby little hand slipping into the older man's--he told her his name was Alaric--and letting him lead her toward the cells. He was careful with the child, holding the door open for her before closing it behind her gently.

Wanda sucked in a shaking breath, looking up at her siblings slowly. Soon it would be her turn. Soon she would be led to her own cell. To her doom?

Alaric walked back to the group, kneeling in front of Wanda. "You ready?" he asked her gently, giving her a smile. It seemed like a warm, inviting smile, but Wanda could see through it: it was the smile of a viper, luring its victim in before it would go in for the bite.

She stepped back, shaking her head a little, but Anya put her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Yes, she's ready," the oldest said stiffly, pushing her toward Alaric. The man chuckled, leading her toward her cell.

"I promise no harm will come to you, miss. You'll be living like a princess," he said, holding the door of the cell open. Slowly, she entered the cell with a sigh. And she did believe him that time, but not the type of princess he was thinking of. She saw herself as--oh, what was her name? Oh! Rapunzel.

Wanda felt like Princess Rapunzel, being locked away and used up to someone's advantage. She just had to wait for her prince to rescue her.


	4. Escape

The next while--years, she guessed, from how her hair had grown way longer and her thin body grew taller, as well as her face maturing--went by in a flurry. A painful flurry, that is. Wanda was in her cell most of the time, but at least twice a day she was led out into this lablike room, where she was injected with various liquids and forced to run many tests. She was then sent back to her cell with a reward--a dish filled with American food. She wasn't even sure what it was, it just seemed to be this rubbery tube of meat stuffed between bread and thin orange slices of plastic on either side of it, with thin chunks of what vaguely tasted like potato. The food tasted horrible, but it was all she got, and it was at least fairly filling.

Wanda also began to exhibit signs of the power she'd been promised. Red mist could filter out of her fingers and move things around as she willed, and she discovered she could hear what people were thinking, as well as control their thoughts. She had taught herself English and German by listening to the worker's thoughts, all throughout the night. All this power was terrifying to her; she didn't want it anymore! It didn't matter what Tony did, she just wanted to go back to the old cottage she lived in with her siblings, lie down, and never move for the rest of eternity.

One morning, she lay on the thin cot she called a bed, her eyes fixated on her hands. She was playing with the red haze as it weaved its way through her fingers. It was so delicate, so beautiful...she loved this little mist. It was so fun.

The door swung open, and Wanda swung around, sitting upright. A guard stood in the doorway, his eyes on her. What color were his eyes? They seemed a dark brown, from where she sat, but she wasn't quite sure. "The Baron requests you come to the meeting room to see the others," he said in a stiff tone. "He said it's time."

She was then led by the arm into the large room with a vaulted ceiling she recognized as the meeting room. In it stood a group of people--the other experiments. Actually, no, there were less than the original seven. One, two, three, four. There were four others. A boy about her age with white hair, a younger girl with green hair, and an older girl with brown hair that had purple streaks. The green-haired girl was conversing with the fourth person: a blond boy. 

The white-haired boy looked up. His eyes were a bright, electric blue. Wanda recognized him immediately: Pietro. Gone was his brown hair and green eyes. Why? "Wanda!" he chirped, and in the blink of an eye, he stood directly in front of her, grinning impishly. "See what I can do now? I'm real strong, too! Oh! Oh! Do you recognize Lorna and Anya?" He pointed first to the green-haired girl, and the other brunette. "And Alex! Did you know Alex volunteered, too?" He jerked his thumb at the blond boy.

Wanda stared on in shock. Her siblings looked so different...and Alex had volunteered too? Oh, God, poor Alex! She would never wish this sort of torture upon anyone, ever! 

Pietro bounced on his heels, smirking. "Soon, we'll be able to take on the Avengers!" He wore a black tracksuit accented with white, which complimented his twin sister's black dress. Lorna wore a green dress, while Anya wore black trousers and a violet blouse, matched with a black leather jacket with sleeves that came to the elbows. Curiously, she also had on leather gloves. Alex wore trousers and a black shirt.

"Wanda, dear sister!" Anya spread her arms as she came over to her siblings, grinning widely. Her pupils were slits, like a cat's, and her irises were an eerie violet, that matched her blouse. "I'm assuming you got power, too. Absolutely perfect! Want to see what I can do?" She removed the glove from her right hand, extending it and taking Wanda's in hers. Anya focused, and a shock of pain wracked her sister's body. Wanda cried out, collapsing to her knees.

"Anya!" Pietro scolded, quickly pushing her away and kneeling beside Wanda. "Wan? You okay? I'm sorry. She did the same thing to me. God, she's so stupid," he mumbled, pulling her against him. She curled into him shakily. It'd been like someone had stabbed her and electrocuted her at the exact same time! It hurt so much...

Suddenly, a tinny voice was heard on the intercom. "Report to your stations immediately. This is not a drill. We are under attack! We are UNDER ATTACK!" Agents ran this way and that in uniform, holding guns and weapons. Wanda looked around in confusion, standing as she took Pietro's hand in hers without a noise. What was going on?

"You know what this means, right?" An eerie smile had crept onto Anya's face as she turned to look at her siblings. When they merely looked confused, she added, "The Avengers have come. Time for revenge."


	5. Teasing

The siblings had formed a plan with ease. Pietro and Lorna were to run, while Wanda and Anya toyed with the Avengers. Just enough to alert them that they were here, and they were ready to cast their revenge. 

"C'mon, Wan," Anya urged her sister, leading them through spiraling hallways and stairs. "Here comes the fun part." She stopped in the doorway of an ominously dark room, her eyes glinting as she pointed.

Scanning the room, circling it, was Anthony Stark himself. His eyes seemed full of wonder, of curiosity. He was looking for something. Wanda knew what it was, pretty clearly, too. The scepter that gave them their powers. 

Wanda slowly crept up behind him, mustering as much energy as she could. She forced herself to think of what he'd done. He killed her family! He must pay. "Thor," he said in English--which made Wanda glad she'd taught herself the language by translating thoughts--, stepping up toward the scepter with almost a swagger. "I've got eyes on the prize." She assumed he was speaking to someone through an earpiece, but paid no mind to it as she continued her steps.

As soon as Anthony had stopped in place in front of the scepter, Wanda quickly ducked around him to stand just behind his right shoulder, both of her hands moving up to a position on either side of his head. She dug deep into his mind. A fear. She wanted a fear of his. She wanted him to feel the same fear that she had felt, all those years ago, when she was torn away from her family. Hatred boiled up in her. Oh, how she wanted to kill him! She shook away the thought. Focus, Wanda. 

She soon found it. The deaths of his precious little team. How cliche. She sighed silently and filtered the vision into his mind. He gasped, his eyes flashing as scarlet as hers were. He stared blankly at the scepter, not seeing it anymore. Wanda merely watched as he gasped and twitched for several moments, sweat dripping down his face.

Oh, how she enjoyed his fear. After sneaking a glance at her elder sister, she could tell Anya did too. Her eyes were alight with excitement as she watched, rubbing her hands together. 

A gasp was heard, and Wanda turned back to Anthony with wide eyes. He had broken from her vision. How? No one had been able to do that before! Anxiously, he glanced around the room, swallowing.

A soft fft was heard, and Wanda turned to see her brother standing behind her, holding Lorna's hand. He moved to confront Anthony, but Wanda stopped him with a hand to his chest. He gave her a look, but she merely looked him in the eyes before they both looked back at Anthony.

Lorna crossed her arms as she watched him, Anya coming to stand beside her siblings with a little grin.

Anthony held out an arm, trying to call his suit. "We're just going to let him take it?" Pietro asked, in English--which he was still learning, thanks to Wanda--, frowning in confusion.

Wanda said nothing in response, her green eyes glinting as she watched Anthony.


	6. Finally

After a small amount longer of teasing, the Maximoff children left the base. This was possible by Pietro scooping up Wanda and Lorna, and Anya hopping on his back. This was quite painful for the man, but he managed to get them back out into Novi Grad, the capital--and their home city.

"Pietro! Alex!" Lorna insisted, pointing back in the direction of the base. "We can't just leave him!" Her tone was urgent. Wanda wondered if she had any sort of feelings for him...Hmm.

Pietro grunted as he set all his siblings on their feet. "He can leave on his own. He's smart." He looked to Anya, who nodded in agreement, her eyes scanning the area. Citizens were scurrying about, frightened by the sound of the battle at the base. Judging by the crumpled pile of metal that vaguely resembled Iron Man suits, Anthony had set off his suits on the city to get them to evacuate. Clearly, it hadn't worked.

"Come," Anya beckoned, waving them over to the center of the square, where people were handing out clothing and food for those who didn't have any. 

"Are we just going to help them?" Pietro sounded annoyed. "We must come up with a plan to fight the Avengers!" Wanda couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. He sounded like a little child throwing a temper tantrum. She wouldn't be surprised if he stomped his foot.

"Yes, we are. Now help." Anya's tone was firm as she gently made her way through the group of people, to the front, where she helped hand things out. Pietro sighed, blurring away before coming back with his own box full of stuff. Wanda scowled--he was stealing things again.

At the front of the line was a blonde woman with a blue scarf. The siblings recognized her as Zrinka, the woman who had lived down the street from them with her younger brother, Costel. "This is for your brother," Pietro said, taking out a football, "and this," he took out a shimmering silver slip dress, "is not for your brother."

"Oh, no," the woman said, holding it up, "this is too--"

"Is every girl in Sokovia getting a dress from Paris? At least Gertie's looked warm," Wanda piped up sarcastically, making the woman look confused and Pietro scowl at his sister. Wanda merely turned round, making her way down the street.

"Uh, she's kidding," Pietro said, making a face, before following after his sister. "You're jealous you're not getting a dress." He grinned mockingly at her. 

"You keep stealing, you're going to get shot," Wanda shot back, glaring at him. When he scoffed, she added, "I mean it. At speed, nothing can touch you, but standing still--"

"Do you think I want to be? You said, "Wait." I'm waiting. I don't know for what. We had Stark helpless. All these years and you--"

"Costel!" Zrinka's voice cut through the air. She ran past the twins to a little boy--Costel--standing near them. "Costel, where did you go?"

"The church," he replied, then looked up at Wanda and Pietro. "The man says you need to come to the church."

"What man?" Wanda asked, suddenly on guard. Who could possibly want them?

"The Iron Man."

The twins exchanged a look. This could be interesting.


	7. Ultron

"The Iron Man? Did he mean Mr. Stark?" Lorna asked. The twins had met up with their siblings, and they were now making their way toward the church. The only church in town. There was a curiosity in the green-haired girl's eyes as they walked, drawing the green cloak she had taken from the boxes of stuff closer around her body.

Wanda shrugged her shoulders as they walked, her own light green eyes on the walk in front of them. "I am unsure," she replied. "But I assume so." Her tone was cold, determined. It better be Anthony. Then she could ruin him once and for all!

"Pfft." Pietro rolled his eyes as they stepped into the church. But instead of the red-gold suit they were expecting, there was a cloaked figure sitting in a single chair, not even looking at them. 

"Talk," Wanda said thinly. "If you are wasting our time--"

"You know this church is in the exact center of this city," a robotic voice said, making the siblings shudder slightly. "The elders decreed it so that everyone could be equally close to God. I like that. The geometry of belief." Wanda tried to peer in his mind. What did he want from them? Why did he call them here? But she found nothing. "You're wondering why you can't look inside my head." 

Unfazed by his words, the witch stepped back slightly, her red eyes gleaming. "Sometimes it's hard," she said coldly, "but sooner or later every man shows himself." 

As soon as she finished talking the man stood, the cloak falling from his body. But it was no man--it was a robot, tall in stature and made of a silvery metal that gleamed brightly, and with menacing, terrifying red eyes that made Lorna shudder. "Oh, I'm sure they do," it said, and Wanda stepped back in shock and slight fear. "But you needed something more than a man. That's why you let Stark take the scepter." He took large steps down, nearer to the family. Wanda felt her breath briefly catch in her throat, out of slight fear.

"I didn't expect..." Wanda nodded vaguely in the thing's direction, "but I saw Stark's fear. I knew it would control him, make him self-destruct."

"Everyone creates the thing they dread," the robot mused, turning away from them to stride across the room. "Men of peace create engines of war, invaders create avengers..." It turned toward them, gesturing at them a little. "People create..." It looked as if it were thinking a moment, as if not knowing what word to say, "smaller people? Uh...children! I lost the word there." It laughed to itself, making Wanda confused. "Children. Designed to supplant them. To help them...end."

"Is that why you've come?" Anya piped up, curious. "To end the Avengers?" She tilted her head slightly, her purple cat eyes shining.

"I've come to save the world," the robot said in a stern tone, faced away from them. It looked back at them briefly to add, "But also, yeah." It turned away again, walking away.

\--

They were back at the base, where the four siblings had been experimented on before. It brought Wanda the creeps to be back here, to say the least. The place was even creepier, empty and dark, with all the agents dead. "We'll move out right away," the robot--Ultron--said, walking down to the area where Wanda had enchanted Anthony at. "This is a start, but there's something we need to begin the real work."

"All of these are..." Lorna frowned.

"Me," Ultron finished. "I have what the Avengers never will. Harmony. They're discordant. Disconnected. Stark's already got them turning on each other. And when you get inside the rest of their heads--"

"Everyone's plan is not to kill them," Pietro interrupted, shaking his head. 

"And make them martyrs?" Ultron flew toward them on little engines. "You need patience. Need to see the big picture."

As Ultron landed, Anya looked at him sadly. "I don't see the big picture. I have a little picture. I take it out and look at it every day." Wanda wanted to hug her elder sister. She looked so filled with grief...

"You lost your parents in the bombings," said Ultron, his tone quieter, as if he were sympathizing. "I've seen the records," he added. 

"The records are not the picture," Pietro argued quietly. 

"Pietro." Wanda shook her head.

"No, please." Ultron kept his calm tone.

Pietro looked back at his twin sister, but instead of smirking, he had a sad look in his eyes. Wanda knew their family was a sensitive subject to him. "We were ten years old," he began, "having dinner, the six of us. When the first shell hits, two floors below, it makes a hole in the floor. It's big." Wanda looked away at his words. God, it was too much. "Our parents go in, and the whole building starts coming apart. I grab them, roll under the bed and the second shell hits. But...it doesn't go off." He looked up at Ultron again. "It just...sits there in the rubble, three feet from our faces. And on the side of the shell is painted one word..."

"Stark," Wanda croaked. The single word in itself was shaky, filled with sadness and grief. The whole scene played like a movie behind her eyelids. 

"We were trapped two days," Lorna added, looking down at the ground sadly.

"Every effort to save us, every shift in the bricks," Anya said, "I think, "This will set it off." We wait for two days for Tony Stark to kill us." Her tone had grown cold. Stiff. Emotionless.

"I know what they are." Pietro nodded, his own voice quiet.

"I wondered why only you four survived Strucker's experiments." Wanda wanted to correct Ultron but she knew better. It meant Alex was probably dead...Poor Lorna. "Now I don't. We will make it right." At his words, Pietro's eyes hardened, out of anger, rage--a desire for revenge. Ultron strode forward, toward Wanda, but his eyes were on the three other siblings. "You and I can hurt them," he said, before looking at Wanda. "But you..." He reached forward with a metal hand, stroking her cheek. She stared up into his blank, red, glowing "eyes". "You will tear them apart. From the inside."


	8. Klaw

After getting themselves to Wakanda by way of broken airplane that Lorna controlled via her powers, the group landed in an old salvage yard on the coast. Inside a really old, large boat was where Ulysses Klaw and his men worked in the illegal shipment and selling of weapons. The plan was to get a sizeable amount of vibranium from Klaw and be on their way. Simple enough.

Klaw was on the phone in his office, clearly angry. "Don't tell me your men swindled you," he snapped. "I sent you six short-range heat seekers and got a boat full of rusted parts. Now, you will make it right, or the next missile I send you will come very much faster." Angrily he clicked off the call, switching to another line. His tone swapped to a much quieter, calmer one. "Now, Minister, where were we?"

Suddenly, the power went out. There were shouts of protest heard out in the larger area from Klaw's men. They fought over who had turned off the power. Klaw, having heard a noise, moved slowly to grab his gun. He crept forward, trying to see who had come in when suddenly a blur came at him. He found himself turned slightly, the gun emptied of all its bullets. The bullets were all in a neat little line on his desk. Pietro sighed, crossing his arms as he watched the man. He was soon joined by his siblings. Anya stuck to the shadows, Lorna stepping out right beside Pietro, and Wanda tilted her head, standing half-in, half-out of the shadows. 

"Yeah," Klaw said, interest on his expression, "the enhanced. Strucker's best pupils." He sat down at his desk and turned briefly toward it to scoop up a plate of candies. "Want a candy?" he teased, waving it around. The family seemed unamused, and he set it back down. "Oh, sorry to hear about Strucker. But then, he knew what kind of world he was helping create. Human life, not a growth market." He watched as they all looked at each other. "You...You didn't know? Is this your first time intimidating someone? I'm afraid that I'm not that afraid."

"Everybody's afraid of something," Wanda purred, stepping down to walk toward him slowly. Anya gave an eerie grin to urge her sister on.

"Cuttlefish," Klaw said, making them confused. "Deep sea fish. They make lights. Disco lights." He made motions with his hands. "'Whoom, whoom, whoom,' to hypnotize their prey, then they--" He made the motion of snapping something up, shaking his head. "I saw a documentary, it was terrifying." He then jumped as Pietro shot forward, expecting the white-haired man to attack, but instead, Pietro grabbed a candy and blurred back to his spot, unwrapping it and popping it in his mouth. 

Klaw looked at him in surprise, then to the girls. "So, if you're going to fiddle with my brain, and make me see a giant cuttlefish, then I know you don't do business, and I know you're not in charge, and I only deal with the man in charge."

Suddenly, Ultron arose from outside the window. He smashed through, grabbing Klaw by the collar and throwing him out and onto the ground. He shrieked in fright as Ultron stood in front of him. "There is no "man" in charge," the robot mused. He stepped forward, leaning down right in front of his face. "Let's talk business."

\--

Klaw hesitantly handed Ultron some vibranium, watching him carefully. "Upon this rock I will build my church." He took the vibranium, spinning it once in his hand. "Vibranium." He then tossed it to Lorna, who caught it with ease.

"You know, it came at great personal cost. It's worth billions," Klaw said, reaching up to touch his neck. Ultron chuckled, lifting his head. One of Klaw's men watched as their money went way up. 

"Now, so are you." Ultron grinned. "It's all under your...dummy holdings? Finance is so weird. But I always say, "Keep your friends rich and your enemies rich, and wait to find out which is which.""

Slowly, Klaw turned to look at him. "Stark."

"What?"

"Tony Stark used to say that...to me. You're one of his."

"What?" Ultron grabbed Klaw's arm in shock. "I'm not...!" Klaw's henchman moved for his gun but Lorna quickly waved a hand and it flew away from him. "I'm not. You think I'm one of Stark's puppets, his hollow men? I mean, look at me! Do I look like Iron Man? Stark is nothing!" At the last word, he chopped Klaw's arm off, making the man scream with pain. Klaw stumbled back while Ultron gasped. "I'm sorry. I'm so...Ooh, I'm sure that's going to be okay. I'm sorry, it's just I don't understand. Don't compare me with Stark!" And with that, he kicked Klaw down the stairs. "It's a thing with me. Stark is...he's a sickness."

"Aww, Junior." Ultron turned around. Behind him stood Thor and Captain America themselves. Iron Man landed in front of them. "You're gonna break your old man's heart."


End file.
